NTUC Fairprice Serangoon Gardens branch
shuts but not for long
A new NTUC Fairprice store will soon replace the existing one at
Serangoon Gardens, which closed down two Sundays ago.
To be ready in the second half of next year, the new NTUC
Fairprice store will be the anchor tenant at the new 40 million
dollar two-storey mall.
Among the many long-time residents who have mixed feelings about
the closure is NTUC Fairprice's Managing Director Seah Kian
Peng.
"The good news is that we will be back. In terms of ambience, it
will definitely be a lot better, because it's going to be a new
store, we're going to put more money into it. But rest assured that
in terms of offering, assortments and the prices, it will remain
the same, as with all our other stores."
He adds that the size of the new store will be roughly the same
as the existing one which occupies 11,700 square feet.
The store was to have closed earlier if not for an agreement
with the developer to allow it to continue operating beyond the
Lunar New Year.
Mr Seah again.
"In fact, the developer, the owners, I think they know that we
are serving the community very well and they were also reluctant to
have a full closure. So they agreed when we talked to them, that we
try to close as late as possible."
With the closure, the store's 50 part-time and full-time staff
have since been deployed to other nearby outlets.
Until the new store is ready, residents can hop onboard a
regular shuttle service that brings them to a nearby FairPrice
hypermart at Hougang Point.
The Serangoon Gardens Village Centre was formerly known as
Paramount Theatre.
The new mall is being developed by local developer Chye Lee
& Sons, whose late father had owned the old Paramount
Theatre.
--938Live
